Raceway-and-hopper assemblage



Se t; 2, 1941.

5. L. GOOKIN RACEWAY-AND-HGPPER ASSEMBLAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Aug. 10, 1939 Sept. 2, 1941. s. 1.. GOOKIN RACEWAY- AND-HOPPER ASSEMBLAGE Original Filed Aug. 10, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VEN TUR w m4 w mgw several units.

Fatenied Sept. 2, 1941 Sylvester L. Gookin, Quincy, Mass, asslgnor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. 1., a corporation ol New Original application August 10, 1939, Serial No.

Divided and this application March 25, 1940, Serial No. 325,667

5 Claims. 21815.1)

This invention relates toraceway-and-hopper combinations as used to supply fasteners in fastener-inserting machines. The subject matter of this application is disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 289,446, filed August 10, 1939, of which this application is a division.

One object of the invention herein set forth is to provide improved features of construction that will facilitate attaching, detaching and interchanging raceways as circumstances require, without necessitating any adjustment after the setting-up adjustments of a machine have once been obtained. For example, in the use of eyeleting machines in shoe-manufacture, one machine may be used for eyelets of many difi'erent colors, sizes and styles. A difference in size may require substitution of one raceway for another, but in every case involving a change of eyelets all the eyelets of one color, size or style must be removed from the machine before another color, size or style may be used. If the same raceway and the same hopper are to be used for different colors and styles, they must be cleared of all eyelets before different eyelets are placed in them.

For many years it has been the practice to provide comparatively heavy interchangeable units, each comprising a hopper and a raceway permanently connected to each other, and to leave such units partially filled with eyelets when they are set aside for use of another such unit, but this practice involves several disadvantages that are eliminated by this invention. Those disadvantages include the following: too much investment in hoppers; too much bench space occupied by the units temporarily out of use; and lack of identification of the eyelets in the It is more desirable to return unused eyelets to their original boxes or cartons (suitably marked and closed to exclude dirt) than to leave them without identification in idle units not always safe to use those units for more than One of the improvements that make these results possible is a novel joint between the hopper and any one of a plurality of correspondingly designed' raceways, through which joint the eyelets are fed to charge the raceway. To form this joint the raceway and the hopper are so made that the eyelet-receiving channel or channels in the raceway determine the efiective size of the opening or openings in the hopper through which the eyelets are to be fed.

The invention provides a raceway-carrier on which an eyelet hopper may be permanently secured, and to which any desired raceway may be quickly attached, the carrier having means by which any raceway correspondingly designed will be located with precision to establish true cooperative relation of its receiving end with the hopper, and true cooperative relation of its delivery end with the spindle of the tool to which the eyelets are to be presented.

Moreover, each raceway so designed has provision for quickly discharging all unused eyelets by gravitation when the raceway is detached and partially inverted. The hopper also has provision for discharging all unused eyelets, but it does not need to be dislodged from the raceway-carrier. These features not only facilitate returning all unused eyelets to their respective supply packages, but they also enable one hopper and two or three raceways to handle eyelets of various sizes, an unlimited number of colors and an unlimited number of styles.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of an eyelet-inserting machine of the type more fully illustrated in my former application above-identified, some of the elements not directly concerned with the eyelet-supplying means being omitted from the view to simplify the drawing:

Fig. 2 is a top plan view projected from Fig. 1 and including the raceway-carrier and its operating mechanism;

one kind or style of eyelet because the permanent assembly of the hopper and the raceway makes detection of trapped eyelets uncertain even when.

all the customary care is used to remove them.

To avoid these objectionable conditions, the v present invention provides improved features of Fig. 3 is a frontal perspective view including the raceway-carrier, a hopper and a raceway assembled in their cooperative relations;

Fig. 4 is a downward view of adjacent portio of the raceway-carrier, the hopper and the raceway, the hopper being represented in section;

Fig. 5 is a perspective section of contiguous portions of the hopper and the raceway; and

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of a locking device by which the raceway is secured to its carrier.

To facilitate comparison of this application with my aforesaid application, the reference numerals used herein are the same as those used to identify corresponding elements in my former application.

The raceway I is provided with the usual main channel I86, through which the eyelets may gravitate to the delivery end to be removed therefrom, one at a time, by the spindle 16 of an eyelet-inserting tool 15. As shown in Fig. 1, the tool is mounted at the upper end of a set-bar 23. Mechanism of well-known construction moves this bar upwardly to take the eylets from the raceway and to insert them into an article of work, such as a shoe upper. lying on a work support 2|. The eyelets thus inserted are clenched by an upper tool, of which the punching portion is indicated at '45. This tool is aflixed to the lower end of a vertically movable bar 22. The bars 22 and 23 are arranged to slide in bearings in the main frame of an eyelet-inserting machine comprising a power-operated cam shaft M, from which the various motions are derived to operate the several mechanisms comprised in an automatic machine of this type.

The raceway I18 is detachably secured, and the hopper I1I is permanently secured, to a flat, inclined platform I12 constituting a part of a poweroperated raceway-carrier I69. The rear portion of the carrier IE9 is connected to the frame 28 by a vertical pivot pin I58. The motion for oscillating the carrier I69 about the pin I58 to present eyelets to the spindle 16 is derived from a cam 80 on the shaft M. This cam is straddled and engaged by a raceway-operating lever 6| suspended from a horizontal pivot-pin 84, the ends of which are supported in the frame 28. The connections for communicating to-and-fro motions of the lever EI to the raceway-carrier I69 comprise a link I68, a bell-crank lever I61 and another link I68, the latter having a pivotal connection with the forward extremity of the carrier.

For the purpose of securing the raceway I18 to the platform I12 in a predetermined relation thereto, the carrier is provided with two fixed abutments I13 and I14 and a movable abutment Ill" arranged in staggered relation to clamp the raceway widthwise by its longitudinal outer surfaces. Each of the fixed abutments has a flange or head to overlap the raceway and maintain it positively on the platform, and the raceway is provided with a notch I16 (Fig. i) to receive the abutment I14. The raceway is thereby registered lengthwise, as well as sidewis'e, to locate its delivery end precisely in cooperative relation to the spindle 16 of the lower setting tool.

The abutment I11 is operable to clamp and release the raceway, and for this purpose it is provided with an eccentric portion I18 arranged to over, the ends of this spring are bent to form hooks, one of which is inserted into a small hole in the lower end of the bolt and the other of which is inserted into a hole in the closed end of the socket member. The spring is stressed torsionally to make these connections, .and it therefore operates with torsional effect to'turn the bolt. The torsional effect tends to shift the pin I88 from the channel I83 into the branch I8I,

or into the branch I82, as the case may be. When the pin'is lodged in the branch I82, the raceway may be detached from the carrier I69 by moving its upper end sidewise away from the hopper,

bear against one side of the raceway when the abutment I14 and the notch I16 are interlocked. The abutment I11 has a bearing in a socket member I19, and operates with the effect of a locking bolt. A pin I88 afiixed to this bolt projects radially therefrom through a slot in the socket member I19, to serve as an operating handle, the slot having an upper branch ,I8I, a lower branch I82 and a channel I83 connecting them. When the pin I80 is in the upper branch I8I, the eccentric portion I 18 lies against one side of the raceway and is then efiective to maintain the raceway in interlocked relation with both fixed abutments I13 and I14. The raceway is thus locked positively to the platform I12, but it cannot be locked in any position except its correctuntil both longitudinal edges of the raceway are disengaged from the abutments I13 and I14.

The main channel I88 of the raceway is open at the upper end to provide for pouring out all the unused eyelets into a receptacle when the raceway is detached, but when the raceway and the hopper are assembled the eyelets supplied by the hopper enter the main channel at one side of the latter. To form a joint or connection, the right-hand side of the raceway is provided with an incurved formation I81 (Figs. 4 and 5) that occupies a shallow opening I88'in the cylindrical wall of the hopper and is arranged to abut and conform to the perimeter of the circular bottom wall I9I of the hopper (Fig. 5). This portion of the raceway has three branch channels I89 extending laterally for conducting eyelets from the hopper into the main channel I86. The eyelets contained in the hopper are fed therefrom through any or all of the channels I89 by a rotary brush I98 located above but adjacent to the bottom wall ISI of the hopper, and carried by a rotary driven spindle I92. Any suitable means may be used to drive the brush in the direction indicated by an arrow in Fig. 4.

Since it is common in shoe factories to use eyelets of different colors, different sizes and different styles, and to use one eyeleting machine for all of them, an operator may be required to remove the unused eyelets and substitute others many times in the course of a day. Consequently, the present invention provides novel means for discharging unused eyelets from the hopper I1I. For this purpose, a discharge opening I93 is made in the cylindrical wall of the hopper by removing a segment from the lower side thereof (Fig. 4). This opening is normally occupied by a segmental gate I84 connected to the hopper by a hinge, of which the hinge-pin is indicated at I95. A torsion spring I86 surrounds the hinge-pin and normally maintains the gate in closed position but permits it to swing outwardly. When the gate is open, the eyelets slide into a cowl on a ledge I provided by a slanting extension of the bottom wall of the hopper that underlies the gate and is seated on the platform I12. These eyelets then fall through a hole I91 in the ledge I85 and through a downwardly extending tube I98 attached to the underside of the platform. The operator may place a receptacle below the tube I98 to receive the eyelets so discharged. To provide for opening the gate the hinge-pin E86 is a straight portion of and several inches bent below the latter to form a handle or leverv I99 (Fig. 3). The straight portion that constitutes the hinge-pin is driven tightly into the leaves of the hinge that are fastened to the gate I94, but this portion is free to turn with respect to the stationary portions of the hinge.

Because of the inclination of the bottom of the hopper and the location of the gate I94, all the unused eyelets in the hopper will be discharged through the tube I98 as a result of opening the gate, provided the brush I99 continues to rotate. Such eyelets as may be lodged in the channels I89 may slide back into the hopper, or if they remain in those channels until the raceway is detached they may be discharged with the other unused eyelets remaining in the raceway. These provisions for detaching a raceway not only afford easy separation and inspection of the parts in which one or more eyelets might otherwise be trapped, but they also release a raceway for use with eyelets of other colors and styles, and to this extent they provide for a corresponding reduction in the number and variety of raceways needed to supplement an eyelet-inserting machine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An eyeleting machine comprising a fastener-inserting tool and mechanism for operating it, a raceway-carrier and mechanism by which it is reciprocated with fixed limits of travel, a hopper afi'ixed to said carrier and having an opening through which eyelets may be fed, a raceway arranged to conduct eyelets from said opening to said fastener-inserting tool, said raceway and said carrier having p rable interlocking portions arranged to locate the receiving portion of the raceway in cooperative relation to said opening and to locate the delivery portion in cooperative relation to said tool, and means arranged to secure the raceway to said carrier when said separable portions are interlocked.

2. An eyeleting machine comprising a fastener-inserting tool and mechanism for operating it, a raceway-carrier and mechanism by which it is reciprocated with fixed limits of travel, a hopper aflixed to said carrier and having an opening through which eyelets may be fed, a raceway adapted to conduct eyelets from said opening to said fastener-inserting tool, said carrier having spaced abutments arranged to locate the raceway in cooperative relation to said hopper and said tool, andmeans arranged on said carrier tosecure the raceway with pressure against said abutments.

3. An eyeleting gmachine comprising a fastenor-inserting tool and mechanism for operating it, a raceway carrier andmechanism by which it is reciprocated with 'fixed limits of travel, a hopper aflixed to said carrier and hav ing an opening through which eyelets may be fed, and a raceway adapted to conduct eyelets from said opening to said fastener-inserting tool,

saidcarrier having two fixed abutments and one movable abutment arranged in staggered relation to clamp the raceway widthwise by its longitudinal outer surfaces, one of said outer surfaces having a notch to receive one of said abutments thereby to locate the raceway lengthwise while all three of said abutments cooperate to locate it widthwise in a, certain relation to said hopper and said tool.

4. An eyeleting machine comprising a fas-- tenet-inserting tool and mechanism for operating it, a raceway-carrier and. mechanism by which it is reciprocated with fixed limits of travel, a hopper aflixed to said carrier and having an opening through which eyelets may be fed, a raceway adapted to conduct eyelets from said opening to said fastener-inserting tool, said raceway having a notch in one of its longitudinal outer surfaces and said carrier having abutments arranged to cooperate respectively with said notch and another portion of the raceway to locate the latter both widthwise and lengthwise in cooperative relation to said hopper and said tool, and a spring-biased cam arranged on said carrier to secure the raceway against said abutments.

5. A raceway-and-hopper assemblage comprising a carrier, a hopper mounted thereon, a raceway having a main channel open at both ends, an upstanding wall of said hopper having an opening to receive one longitudinal margin of the raceway, means arranged to secure the raceway to said carrier with said margin in said opening'and with said main channel ofi'set laterally from said opening, the raceway having one or more branch channels extending across said margin and adjoining said main channel to conduct eyelets from the hopper through said channels.

SYLVESTER L. GOOKIN. 

